The Tale of Kazemaru Haya
by LauraSwift
Summary: Kazemaru Haya is Ichirouta's twin sister - and this is her story.


I stood up, as my team members fell. They fell in pain, in anger, in disbelief, in sadness. They could not believe any of the match; who can blame them, playing against our old team mates. We had fought long and hard together to win the Football Frontier, and although many fell at first contact with the super humans, some kept strong. But they had pushed themselves too far. Trying to achieve the impossible. Getting injured in the process. Not believing they were good enough. Their fears and insecurities had been pried on, and they had been taken for granted. None of us could believe them, nor him, when they said they had chosen to gain artificial strength. We had trained so hard when they had gone, it drove us further, fuelled our determination, but it still wasn't enough. Enough for us to have a reason to get back up, once again, and fight.

I could hear the cries of my team mates; desperately trying to get themselves together, so that they could get those they loved back. I stood, overlooking each and everyone of them, through the dust cloud, and my heart ripped into pieces. It shook my entire body. I could barely stand up anyway. I thought I'd fall to my feet, but no. I walked towards our ex-teammates, and stopped at the halfway line. I could see Endou on his knees, fists clenched, holding back the tears. He'd given them all a passion for football, and it had been taken away from them because of one person who was revenge thirsty.

I took another step towards the line. I could sense my brothers presence, I can feel that from miles off. He smirked through the dust cloud.

'You have always been stronger. Even before I knew we were related. You're faster, stronger, smarter than me, and I could never surpass that. Until now.' He laughed slyly.

The words which left his lips, I knew they could not be true, I knew they couldn't. I hesitantly took in a slow, deep breath.

'I know you've always wanted to be as good as me. I know it. And you could be - you still can be - if you take mine and Endou's hand. I promise you'll be like me.' I spoke firmly. I was fighting back the tears and all my emotions, whilst saying what I meant. I turned around and reached out to Endou. He graciously grabbed my hand and slowly rose up. Endou's eyes were glistening, like mine, covered in tears needed to be shed.

'Is this what you wanted? To hurt your best friend? And sister? And everyone who cares for you?' I said firmly, voice starting to shake. 'Is it?' I screamed.

'Take it.' My brother put out his hand to me. In his hand was the crystal, the source of the power. 'And you can become great like me and all your other teammates.'

I slapped his hand away.

'Who do you think I am?' I screamed once again. 'I escaped from this! And now, you're there, and you've been taken advantage of, by the man I despise, because he wanted to do to me what he did to you!' The tears started to fall. The salty taste of my tears was bitter.

'Your definition of greatness differs from ours,' Ichirouta smirked, 'You and I could rise to great things, Haya, if you would only take my hand, and choose the right path.' He smiled like he used to - I knew it was a trick but it was so convincing - and I shook my head whilst my head was down.

'No,' I whispered, 'No no no no no!' I was shouting the last 'no'.

'You give me no choice, sister,' Ichirouta sighed, 'I know something you hoped I would never find out,' He pointed at Fubuki, 'He was one of our closest friends, Haya, and I know that you love him!'

I became frozen to the spot, yet I could feel a hot force working its way up me, and there was only one thing I could do - turn away.

Endou stood up, turning me back around and gripping my hand.

'Come on,' he mumbled under his breath.

'Remember,' we chanted, 'Remember.'

'Remember!' He and I shouted in unison.

A purple light engulfed the whole of the pitch, blinding everyone, breaking the crystals, shattering them into thousands and thousands of tiny shards. The whole of my team stood up, shaking, but not crying, and looked at me and Endou. All the memories flashed before my eyes, of our football journey, the people, the hardships, the friendships, everything. My brothers eyes widened, his pupil enlarging back to normal size, the hardness of his face fading, the blankness of his eyes filling in. The team fell to the ground, with my brother being last.

'Thank you, captain.' He murmured, before falling to the floor.

Whilst my team stood tall, I fell to my knees, running to my brother, trying to wake him up, bring him back to consciousness. My team ran to their fallen friends, helping them up, hugging, crying, chatting.

Fubuki helped Someoka up, sat him on the bench, and wandered over to me. He wiped away the tears from my face, and grasped my hand and held onto it tightly. He knew how long I'd held my emotions in, staying positive.

'You're just like Endou. Always staying positive, appearing oblivious, but you always know what you're doing. It'll all come right, this will. You'll see. If it doesn't, well, it fooled me.' He walked away, but turned back. 'If what Ichirouta said is true, I'll happily love you too.' As he finished whispering, he carried on walking. But then turned around again, and knelt down with me.

I smiled from beneath my heavy parting. I like my hair like that, because I can hide my face, so nobody can tell how I'm feeling from my facial expressions unless I want them to. Fubuki moved my hair from my face, and grinned at me.

'I really don't know what I'd do without you,' I sighed. 'I'd probably be alone and depressed like I was.'

A sudden flurry of blue lights and a mash of sirens came bursting into the school gates. Paramedics came and took all my brothers team into the huge ambulances. They wouldn't let me go with my brother, no matter how hard I pleaded. Fubuki stood up and pulled me up with him. We walked towards the new school building, the one which had been built because of all this mess, and we slumped against the wall.

Aphrodi stumbled out of a police car and ran over to me, still in his Zeus Junior High football kit and sat next to me. My old best friend. 'I came as quickly as I could!'

He changed. He was tricked too. But by a different man - Kageyama - who had given them the power of the Gods in an elixir.

And then there was Kidou. He was my best friend at my first junior high, Tekikou Academy. We both had a love for football, but I wasn't allowed on the team because I'm a girl. I faked being a boy. I even went to the extreme of faking my name and decided to only tell Kidou. But Kageyama found out. He expelled me, told me I was a disgrace. I'd been called that before, when I had ran away from the people who controlled my brother, Aliea Academy. I escaped their clutches.

I was abducted as a Kurimatsudler, taken to be trained to be superhuman, dosed up with numerous amounts of liquids and tablets. They dyed my hair blonde, so my parents wouldn't recognise me. But I escaped when I was six. I ran away. I never knew who my real parents were. But when I was abducted I was given a whole new name, a new identity, with no clue or knowledge of my past. This couple with a son my age adopted me, and changed my name. I was then known as Haya Katou. But when I wanted to be on the team; it became Hayate Katou.

After I was expelled I moved to Zeus Junior High, where I was happily pretending to be a boy. I met Aphrodi here. He first met me as a girl, but I told him what I was going to do, and he sounded unsure. Nevertheless he stood by me. I spent the rest of my first year there, playing for the team. But at the start of the second year, an unfortunate incident happened. Kageyama was put in charge of the team.

He didn't say anything to the team. Anything at all about me being a girl. I knew he recognised me alright. But he exposed me when I wasn't expecting it. At the first match of the Football Frontier, he told us all to drink the elixir. Everyone other than me obliged. I knew it wasn't safe, I knew I couldn't trust him. And I was right. After I refused to drink it, he called me to the front in the team meeting in the club room before the first match of the season. My heart was pounding. I didn't know what was going to happen. No clue. He pulled off the wig I was wearing, which was completely invisible as it matched my hair perfectly, and he pulled my hair out of the ponytail; and I was exposed as a girl. He got me expelled there too.

So then I moved to the school where my brother was, Raimon Junior High. I had to pretend to be a boy there too to get onto the team. I was terrified of being exposed as the fraud I was. At the team tryouts, I got in the team. After the first couple of matches, I felt I had to tell someone. My brother already knew, and acted like he never knew me at all. Nobody knew he had an adopted sister. I told Endou my secret. He kept quiet about it, until the match against Tekikou Academy, when Kidou spoke to me. Kageyama appeared behind him and revealed my identity to the whole of my new team. Before Kidou joined us he was with Kageyama all the way, until we opened his eyes. Things started to fall apart from here. Everyone wanted me off the team, as they could get disqualified from the competition if the frontier board found out that they had a girl on the team - but one person fought my side - and that was Endou. He believes everyone should have a chance at everything, and will stand up for what he thinks is right - unfortunately for me, he didn't win in this instance. I still travelled to matches with them, helping out.

A week after our match, it was Tekikou versus Zeus. We all sat in the club room watching the match, and it wasn't pretty - not in the slightest. It was a miracle if you didn't get injured in that game. Zeus were destroying their opposition, and I could see ex-Tekikou teammates hitting the ground hard, and ex-Zeus teammates grinning wildly as if they were enjoying it. I fell off my chair in the club room (which everyone scowled at me for doing) when I saw Aphrodi's face - he'd completely changed. There was no trace of any good in him at all. I remember cameras zooming in to get a closer look at the boy running off the pitch, and going to talk to Kageyama, and saying 'Please! Stop the match!' with the boy being ignored. That boy was Kidou. After this match he was infuriated with Kageyama for letting his teammates become so badly injured, with his two best friends being hospitalised for months after.

Raimon FC were having a meeting in a classroom, when Endou was told that we had a visitor. He opened the door, and Kidou strolled in.

'Let me join you.' he announced.

I leapt behind the store cupboards at the back of the room, desperate for him not to see me.

'Umm, sorry? Why should we let you join? You go to Tekikou Academy! We can't possibly let you join us!' Endou ranted.

'I suppose I should tell you. I'm transferring here to join the team, so that I can play against Zeus Junior again. A sort of revenge, I'd you like.' Kidou explained.

Most of the club members were really against this idea, but didn't want to speak out. Time for me to pipe up again!

'Well, I think it's... Good to have a skilful player join us?' I spoke unsurely, still behind the cupboards.

Kidou walked over to the cupboards. 'Are you going to show yourself or do I have to find you?'

Now that was shameful. Slowly I rose up from behind the units.

'H-hello J-Kidou,' I stammered, crossing my fingers that it wouldn't be too awkward - boy was I wrong. 'Remember m-me?'

His eyes inspected me, and then his hands grabbed my fringe and attempted to lift it back, but I slapped his hand away.

'How dare you grab my hair!' I shouted, not thinking.

'No, I'm sorry but I don't.'

And that was Kidou. Appearing rude as always, when really he has a reason - normally protecting someone - and this time he was protecting me. Eventually the club let him join, and after a few very painful training session they began to work together.

On his first official day at Raimon I saw him in the lunch queue, grabbed him by the collar and dragged him to the otherside of the hall where the team members couldn't see.

'Alright, what's this all about Kidou? You know me and then brush me off and make me look like an idiot!' I angrily yet quietly told him.

He sighed and didn't speak for a while, but then decided to say something.

'It's to protect you. Kageyama is trying to kill you for running away from him twice, and currently he thinks you've moved from Raimon to another school. He hates your guts, Haya. Don't you realise that? Not having you as a friend is a good thing.' He quietly ranted at me.

'Oh, I understand. I get it now. If you hate me you could've just said it!' I smirked sadly, as a tear rolled down my face.

'I didn't mean it like that, you know I didn't.'

'Oh? So what did you 'mean it like' then? Hm?' And with that I walked out the hall. But what we didn't know was that the team were stood outside the window we were next to - which was open. We weren't lucky enough to go unheard, though. Endou overheard us, which was actually quite fortunate as he can keep things to himself. For a while. He blurted it out at training the next evening.

I'd decided that I would join in the training session as I had nothing better to do, and after our warm up lap and stretches, Kidou grabbed my arm and walked towards a large oak tree, which he then pulled me behind so we were hidden.

'Listen,' he whispered, 'I don't hate you. The opposite actually. I want to protect you, like I have with Haruna. If I was friends with you Kageyama would find you really easily, and neither of us want that.'

I didn't know what to say. I knew he had a reason, and I should have been grateful. Instead I was selfish because we couldn't be friends. I let my head droop towards the floor, and lent on the tree.

'And you shouldn't be training with us. What happens if he walks by? He'll know it's you by your techniques and speed.' his voice softened slightly, but when he noticed I was looking away he grabbed me by the shoulders. 'Promise me this is the last time you train with us.'

'I promise.'

And with that we returned the pitch as if nothing had been said. But whilst we had disappeared, Endou had been talking to the others and told them what he overheard.

'This isn't a big deal guys.' I was stood in front of them all, with their arms folded and staring me straight in the eye, unhappily.

'Not a big deal?' Ichirouta piped up, 'Haya, someone's trying to bloody kill you and you don't seem to care!'

'If someone was trying to kill me, I'd hide.' Kurimatsu chirped with Kabeyama nodding in agreement.

'We shouldn't make a big deal out of it,' Endou intervened, 'That won't help anything.'

A shadowed figure was stood against the goalpost at the back of the group, in the shade.

'If she wants to get herself killed,' they mumbled, 'Let her.'

'Why would you say that Gouenji?' Someoka firmly said.

At that point I left the conversation and ran out the gates, with all my stuff, home. I never understood why Gouenji said that, and I still don't now to be honest with you. Maybe it's because I'd been foolish and idiotic about the situation. Who knows.

On match day, the atmosphere was tense to say the least. After we had found out that the bus had been tampered with, everyone was on edge. I took the risk of going to the game with them all - Kidou wasn't the only one with unfinished business. I was sat on the benches with the subs and the other girls when the team came out for the second half. The look in Aphrodi's eyes was the same as it was against Tekikou - it scared me. I couldn't believe that he would do something like that. When the girls stole the Gods Aqua, Zeus were convinced they would last. Well were they wrong. But I was alone on the bench, which meant I was vulnerable to attack. Kageyama had spotted me then, which I didn't realise. He was making his towards me as the second half ended, for the rest of Raimon were celebrating on the pitch. I didn't move. He approached me from directly in front, and my heart was racing. I was going to die in a football stadium. Worse, I didn't even play in the match. He walked slowly as he knew I wouldn't move, and he reached in his pocket for something, clutching it in his hand. At about 10 metres away, I closed my eyes. All I could see was him walking towards me in a black mist, but I could hear running. It came closer. I opened my eyes and in front of me stood Aphrodi.

'You will not hurt my friend! Do you hear me?' He shouted. 'She did nothing to you - and you're afraid she'll tell others about what you are!'

At that point armed police officers came storming towards Kageyama, and captured him, putting him face down on the ground and hand-cuffing him. What he held in his hand he threw towards me, and I saw it was a small locket with KH engraved on it. I leant over and picked it up, then Aphrodi turned towards me.

'Are you okay? I'm sorry. I really am,' his voice had become comforting and quite gentle, 'Forgive me.' He held out his hand and smiled, 'Friends?'

Graciously I took his hand and smiled.

'Will you fasten this around my neck please?' I hung the locket around my neck, and he fastened it.

'Never seen this before,' he smiled, 'Its nice though. Where did you get it?'

'Oh,' I sighed, 'Just something that was... Returned to me.'

Aphrodi is such a nice person. Well to me anyway. I know he can be rude to other people, but you know, not to me. Teehee. I remember he stuck up for me when Kageyama kicked me out of Zeus. He stood in front of me, and plainly said to Kageyama: If she goes, I go! Which didn't happen obviously. But still sweet.


End file.
